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10 tips for preventing identity theft
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Mon Oct 6, 2008 8:50pm PDTImagine having worked hard for years in order to save up enough money for a down payment on your first home. Then imagine walking in to the bank to secure your mortgage and finding out that you've been denied because someone else racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts under your name.
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According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. It can happen all too easily: An unauthorized person gets your personal information -- your name, Social Security number, credit card or checking account number -- and uses it to commit fraud, racking up charges that never get paid and end up ruining your credit. Read More »
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5 ways to do more with your money (without investing it)
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:16am PDTWith Wall Street in turmoil, taxpayers will be feeling the pinch even if they don't have enough money to invest in the stock market.
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I'm not a financial expert. I don't even play one on the Internet (or anywhere else, for that matter). But, like most people out there, I worry about money -- how to earn it, how to save it, how to manage it, how to get as much as I can while spending as little as possible.
I've found that, for my family, the most straight-forward and simple money-saving tricks work well, but, at some point, "just spend less money" isn't helpful advice. How do you spend less money when you're spending it on essentials? What if you can't tighten the monthly budget by cutting out cable because you need to have high-speed internet access for your job?
Here are a few of the tips and techniques that work for my family: Read More »- Let’s talk: Comment (19) | Blog
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Trying to shore up my positive attitude
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:55am PDTI've been a bit overwhelmed recently. Not with work, per se, but with trying to juggle all of the things I've got going on right now -- when you put it all together, well, there's a lot on my plate, and it can leave me feeling uninspired and unmotivated.
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I'm sure you can relate to that feeling. I like to pretend I'm SuperMom but, of course, I'm not.
So I thought I'd share with you a few of the places I turn to when I need a bit of inspiration (besides Work It, Mom! of course)...
1.) The Happiness Project. You can read some of Gretchen Rubin's great tips for happiness at Work It, Mom!, and her blog has plenty more, plus quotes and articles and her own insights into happiness. Read More »
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Is housekeeping the Achilles heel of working mothers?
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:54pm PDTWith five kids, two parents who work full-time, a 75-pound black lab who sheds hair like he's desperately trying to clone himself, no housekeeper, and my tendency to clutter, I don't need to tell you that my house isn't pristine. It's not filthy -- in terms of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization's Clutter Hoarding Scale , we're not more than a 1, the lowest score. But still, I wouldn't happily eat off of the floor or anything. (My toddler is far less discriminating.)
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A few weeks ago, my husband hit his limit and started scrubbing. It was something I'd been meaning to get to, but with deadlines piling up and no extra hours in the day, I hadn't been able to stay on top of more than the laundry and the dishes -- things we both take care of regularly. Read More »
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5 quick ways to recharge your batteries at work
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Mon Sep 8, 2008 1:25pm PDTThere are times when you're juggling work and parenthood and more balls end up on the floor than in the air. When that happens to me (like it did today), these are a few of the things I do to try to pick those balls up and keep juggling:
1.) Re-do your to-do list. I write...
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In politics, are kids truly "off limits"?
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Thu Sep 4, 2008 1:20pm PDTOn Monday, when Republican Vice
Presidential nominee Sarah Palin confirmed that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is five months
pregnant, leaders of both...
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Too busy for date night? Try a date day
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:00am PDTOn a recent national holiday (not yesterday), as I was scrambling to figure out how I was going to juggle work and childcare, I realized that I didn't actually have to drive in to the office that day and, for some reason, my kids' daycare was actually open.
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My husband didn't have to drive in to the office, either. But he's so used to having to catch up on work from home, and I'm so used to having a big bunch of freelance irons in the fire, that it took us a while to see the potential in the situation: Work (optional) + daycare (open) = pre-paid childcare and time to ourselves. Alone.
He did the math more quickly than I did; when he asked me if I wanted to go to the movies after I dropped the wee ones off, I almost told him that I had been planning to work from home that day and wouldn't have time. Sad, isn't it?
When you and your partner are both working and juggling all the time, its easy to let your relationship simmer along on the back burner. Read More »
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Kids and TV: Welcome to the working mom's guilt show
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:45pm PDTOne of the things I always tell other parents -- especially other working moms who are struggling with their juggling of career and motherhood -- is that they shouldn't feel guilty for letting their little kids watch TV if they need to get their work done.
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It's something I really believe is OK. It's something I do more often than I'd like. And it's something that makes me feel like a total hypocrite because, half a lifetime ago, when I was a nanny, I never turned the TV on when the kids were around. Ever. Read More »- Let’s talk: Comment (13) | Blog
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Working moms and the Mommy Drive-By: Why do we do this to one another?
By Lylah M. Alphonse, on Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:53am PDTWe've all experienced it at one time or another: The Mommy Drive-By. When someone -- a relative, another mom, a total stranger -- takes it upon herself to question your judgment or criticize your parenting.
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Single moms get flak about their social lives. Step moms are looked down upon for not being "a real parent." Breast-feeding mamas get hit when they nurse their child in public; formula-feeding mothers get the evil eye when they whip out a bottle instead of a breast. Mothers from all walks of life are questioned for decisions large and small. And working mothers, well, they get a little bit of "all of the above."
I'm positive that I thought I knew more about parenting before I became a parent, so I can kind of see why non-parents feel compelled to tell parents what they should do differently, whether they are qualified to say anything or not. But when the drive-by comes from another working mom, I'm baffled... why do we do this to one another? Read More »
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